Pirate Bay sells out to Swedish software firm for $7.7m

Global Gaming Factory X AB (GGF) has agreed to buy BitTorrent tracker site The Pirate Bay for $7.7m (60m Swedish Crowns), according to a statement on the company's website.

The Swedish software outfit confirmed the acquisition this morning. Under the deal GGF has also bought file sharing tech firm Peerialism.

"We would like to introduce models which entail that content providers and copyright owners get paid for content that is downloaded via the site", said the company's CEO Hans Pandeya.

GGF will take control of the site once the transaction completes, which is expected to happen next month.

"In order to live on, The Pirate Bay requires a new business model, which satisfies the requirements and needs of all parties, content providers, broadband operators, end users, and the judiciary.

"Content creators and providers need to control their content and get paid for it. File sharers need faster downloads and better quality," said Pandeya.

The Pirate Bay also confirmed the buyout this morning in a blog post on its website.

"We've been working on this project for many years. It's time to invite more people into the project, in a way that is secure and safe for everybody. We need that, or the site will die. And letting TPB die is the last thing that is allowed to happen!", it said.

The co-founders of The Pirate Bay were fined $3.6m in the recent court case. Meaning, on the face of it, they stand to make a profit. Not that they were ever in it for the money.

Meanwhile, key players in the trial against The Pirate Bay have started to give their first reactions to the news.

"We don't know the details and there are many questions to ask about how this will work in practice but we would be delighted if this resulted in The Pirate Bay turning into a legitimate licensed service," the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry's CEO and chairman John Kennedy told El Reg. ®